COVID-19

A clog in global supply chains for materials like aluminum is hitting industries here in Montana. Craft breweries are the latest businesses to feel the impact — and their customers could soon feel it too.

Recent conflicts over patient care underline the pressure on health care workers to provide unauthorized COVID treatments, particularly in parts of the country where vaccination rates are low, government skepticism is high, and conservative leaders have championed the treatments.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday the Biden administration does not have the authority to implement a vaccine mandate for health care workers.

The Montana State News Bureau first reported in October that St. Peter’s Health said three public officials harassed and threatened its providers when doctors declined a patient’s request for a treatment not authorized for use against COVID-19.

Gov. Greg Gianforte on Tuesday applauded a federal court decision pausing the Biden administration’s rule mandating COVID-19 vaccines or testing for employers with 100 or more employees.

The first tribal college to have a four-year nursing program welcomed a new body to the classroom this fall: a synthetic cadaver. And it's helping Indigenous students prepare to enter health care professions at a time when they're needed most.

A special legislative counsel will investigate allegations that Attorney General Austin Knudsen abused his power to intervene on behalf of a patient at a hospital in Helena.

Josey Quiñones is a band teacher at Monforton Middle School west of Bozeman whose students are meeting in person this school year — albeit outdoors — after an 18 month break during the pandemic.

“We're just hoping that making some of these changes will help speed up our ability to get through the large number of new cases and close contacts that are coming in every day," said Missoula COVID-19 Incident Commander Cindy Farr.

Nationally, KHN and The Associated Press have documented that more than 300 public health leaders, weary of abuse and of their expertise being questioned, have resigned or retired as the country struggles to recover from the worst pandemic in a century.